"Slow day today," Ryan commented as he tinkered around under the hood of a pickup truck in the auto shop, a radio playing in the background. Madonna's Vogue, ironically. It was Friday afternoon, and they had just wrapped up the bizarre Madonna week. Ryan was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones were now Cheerios. It seemed to go against all the laws of God and man, but somehow it had happened.
Kurt hummed in agreement. He'd just come to pick up something from his dad and had ended up in a conversation with Ryan Berry. "I need to leave soon, I'm going out with Mercedes and Tina."
"Oh, ok," Ryan said awkwardly. He never got invited anywhere with the other glee club members. He started singing along as Maroon 5's This Love started playing, trying to keep his mind off the fact that even though he was part of the glee club, still nobody wanted to spend time with him. Again, he knew why. He had an obsession with being the best and he had a hard time keeping his thoughts to himself. He couldn't help himself though. He needed to be, he needed the New Directions to win, and if the others wouldn't work on it, he'd have to motivate them himself. In fact, he had a suspicion that some of them were lip-synching. He'd have to do something about that.
Ryan was about to start on the second verse, when he noticed someone enter the garage. He stopped abruptly as Kurt hurriedly shut the music off and retreated into the back to go find Burt.
"Hello ma'am, how can I help –" Ryan faltered as he recognized who the customer was – the director of their rival glee club, Vocal Adrenaline. And she was staring at him. "You're Shelby Corcoran," he blurted out after a few moments of the two of them looking at each other. "You're the coach of Vocal Adrenaline."
Shelby quirked her eyebrow, seemingly pulled out of her trance. "Yes, I am," she said absently, still looking at him intently. "And you're Ryan Berry," she added, causing a surprised look to appear on his face. "I saw you at Sectionals. You're quite talented."
A large smile appeared on Ryan's face at her compliment. Finally, someone had noticed him! And not just anyone, this was Shelby Corcoran, coach of the best glee club in the country! Keep it cool. "Thank you," he said, preening slightly. "That means a lot coming from you. I mean, you've won the National title three years in a row." He stepped toward her, extending his hand. Shelby shook it, and he felt something, some kind of connection. He couldn't really explain it.
"Do you work here?" Shelby questioned.
"Yes, I've been working part-time here for a few months now. I've been around the shop since I was 11 though, and Mr. Hummel's taught me a lot about cars. I actually spend most of my time here when I'm not at school. It was either this or getting a job waiting tables at Breadstix, and I didn't want to do that. Plus as an added bonus I get to work with cars," Ryan rambled, blushing as he caught himself. "Sorry, I tend to talk a lot." What the hell is the matter with you? Don't embarrass yourself! Something about the woman confused him, and he didn't know what it was.
Shelby didn't seem to mind his ramblings though, in fact he could see a hint of a smile tugging on her mouth. That's a relief, at least she doesn't think you're a freak. "Don't worry about it. I'm actually here for an oil change, how fast could you get it done?"
"Oh, that's easy, then." Ryan thought for a moment. "I think I could finish it in half an hour. Forty-five minutes tops. You could leave your car here, if you'd like, or you can wait in the lounge." Ryan hoped she'd stay, he needed to figure out why he was drawn to her. Maybe a chat would help.
Kurt and Burt entered the garage, the latter holding out his hand. "Hello, what can we do for you today, miss...?"
"Corcoran, and I was just telling Mr. Berry here that I need an oil change." Shelby gestured at Ryan. "He told me he could get it done in half an hour?"
Burt glanced at Ryan. "He did, did he? Well, Ms. Corcoran, that's doable, it's a pretty slow day for us. You can leave your car here and come back for it, or you can wait around until he finishes up."
"I think I'll stay, I don't really have anything else to do today," she said with a smile. Ryan smiled as well. Maybe he'd figure out what it was about her that made him feel this way.
"Ok then, I just need you to sign off on the paperwork in the office. If you give your keys to Ryan, he'll get your car on the lift," Burt said amiably.
Shelby rifled through her purse, extracting a set of keys and handing them to Ryan. She then followed Burt into the office, after telling Ryan not to scratch her car. Ryan looked at the keys in his hand and whistled. "A Range Rover? Nice! Not a lot of people around here have those."
Kurt nodded in agreement.
"Kurt, do you know who that was?"
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah. She's Ms. Corcoran. She said so herself."
Now Ryan rolled his eyes. "That was Shelby Corcoran, coach of Vocal Adrenaline. The Vocal Adrenaline. As in National Show Choir Champions for the past three years Vocal Adrenaline. Our competition for Regionals!"
Kurt blinked. "Oh."
"Yes, oh! She's the best show choir director in the country!"
"Well, be careful then. She might try to spy on us," Kurt said. He wasn't stupid. This Ms. Corcoran may just be trying to get information on the New Directions. Then he glanced at his watch, noticing that he needed to leave to meet Mercedes and Tina soon for their shopping trip. "I have to go."
Ryan paused. "Thank you for your concern, but it'll be fine. I won't tell her anything that pertains to glee." He walked outside to get the Range Rover.
Shelby read over the receipt Burt Hummel gave her and quickly signed it. Burt told her she could wait in the small lounge next to the office, or go outside and watch the two boys (mostly Ryan though) work on her car. She thanked him and entered the small air-conditioned room furnished with a couch and a coffee table. Only then did she allow herself to process what had just happened.
Ryan was here. Her son was here. She had just met her son, the baby she had given up over fifteen years ago. And he knew about her, he knew her name, knew what she did for a living. He knew she was one of the best show choir directors in the country. She saw the awe on his face when he recognized her, and it felt amazing. But he didn't know the most important thing about her. And she couldn't let him know.
Her son was here.
She took a deep breath. She couldn't let herself get too attached. He wasn't hers after all. Pull yourself together, she told herself as she paced around the small room. She knew she couldn't get attached, but she also knew she'd never forgive herself if she wasted this opportunity to talk to him. Even just as a customer. This might be the only chance you have to talk to him. Make the most of it. She took another deep breath, and put on her show face, acquired over years of teaching arrogant and obnoxious high school students. After composing herself, she stepped out or the lounge and into the garage area, where she saw Ryan fiddling under the hood of her Range Rover.
Ryan glanced over at her, flashing her a smile. Shelby felt her heart melt. He had such an adorable smile. "Hi Ms. Corcoran, I'm just taking out your filters. Are you timing me? I'm sure I can finish in record time," he said confidently.
Shelby smiled slightly at his confidence. "No, I'm not timing you." In fact, make it take as long as you can. She took the folding chair that Kurt had been sitting on earlier and sat down. "So, you like cars?"
"Yes, I've always liked cars, and I can't wait to get my driver's license. Working here is my favorite pastime after my music." Ryan grinned as he set the oil to drain. "I spent a lot of time here last year, but I only really started a few months ago. Mr. Hummel needs an assistant sometimes, and Kurt – that's his son – doesn't like working here." Ryan was quite happy to talk, someone had finally noticed him and was willing to listen to him. He wasn't about to pass that up. "The last time he worked here he ruined a $200 pair of boots."
Who wears a $200 pair of boots while working on cars? Shelby wondered. Out loud, she said, "Is Kurt your friend?"
A crease appeared in Ryan's forehead. "Well, we're in glee club together," he said vaguely. "And he talks to me when we're both in here. I suppose we clash in glee club but that's just because we're both talented performers. I'm clearly the superior singer though, if I do say so myself."
Shelby had to suppress a laugh at her boy's ego. He'd gotten that from her.
Ryan chuckled nervously. "I guess that sounded pretty arrogant. He's really good, even though his voice has a different quality than mine. His range is different, and I guess that's why we don't clash as much as we could." He checked on the Range Rover. "Excuse me, I just need to get the replacement oil."
As he walked off, Shelby took another breath, thinking about what she had learned. Her son was a talented performer who like to fix cars. He was sort-of friends Kurt Hummel. She knew this was violating that damned contract, but she couldn't help herself. She just felt a compelling desire to know anything and everything about Ryan Berry. Her phone chimed, signaling a text. It was from her mom, asking if she was coming for lunch tomorrow. She fired of a quick confirmation as Ryan came walking back out lugging a container of oil which he set off to the side.
"Draining should take another five minutes," he said. "Then around ten more to get the oil and filters in."
She smiled at him. "So do you take voice lessons?"
He frowned. That wasn't good. "I used to," Ryan said slowly. "But my vocal coach, Mrs. Stanton, moved to Hawaii last year, and my dads decided that since I was entering high school, I should focus more on my studies. They said I should just join a music club at McKinley. I did, but it didn't work out. My fathers don't really understand that the arts programs at McKinley are inadequate and I can't improve with substandard teachers. Mr. Shue is great at inspiring us and all that, but he's only so-so in the technical teaching department. We don't really see eye to eye on everything. Or anything, really. And we spend half our time focusing on dancing because some people have two left feet. I don't think I'm improving anymore."
Shelby heard the dejection in his voice, and she understood completely. She was a teacher herself, and she knew just how much a good teacher could bring out a student's talent. Her family had paid for voice lessons all throughout her childhood and through her teenage years. She knew Ryan was something special. He had her talent, her drive before she had given birth to him, and she knew he'd go far. She had seen his performance at Sectionals and if he could do that without an actual vocal coach, she knew he would be phenomenal if he had someone teaching him one on one.
"Have you thought about finding a new vocal teacher?" She saw his face take on a neutral expression.
"No," he said simply. "My dads wouldn't go for it. They're both businessmen, they're not really interested... they're really busy. They won't pay for extra lessons anymore." He finished replacing the filters in the Range Rover, and carefully double checked everything. "Your car's good to go, Ms. Corcoran."
Shelby blinked as she realized that the oil change was done. Her time was up. "I'll just go pay Mr. Hummel." She stood and made her way to the office, quickly settling her bill and returning to Ryan. Suddenly she pulled out a business card, offering it to him. "If you want any vocal lessons, just give me a call. I give private lessons to certain students at my house." She watched at him as he inspected the card. Please say yes, please say yes.
"I'd like that, but I wouldn't be able to pay for it. My dads won't, that's for sure," he said.
"You wouldn't have to pay me."
Ryan looked at her cautiously. Then a look of realization and discomfort appeared on his face. "Ms. Corcoran, I'm flattered and everything, and I appreciate your interest and you're certainly very attractive, but I don't think that would be appropriate," he said hurriedly, offering the card back.
Shelby was confused, until it clicked. Oh God. "Well thank you," she replied drily, trying to cover up her horror and hoping fervently that he hadn't noticed anything. "But I wasn't...ah...propositioning you. When I said vocal lessons, that's actually what I meant."
Ryan blushed brightly. "I-I'm so sorry! It's just, one of my teammates has a pool-cleaning business, and everyone knows what he actually does with those ladies who call him... I thought... That was very rude and presumptuous of me. I really didn't mean any offense," he ended anxiously.
Shelby gave a wry smile. "It's all right." Let's just never speak of this again.
"Why would you offer me free vocal lessons? I'm sure you must be busy with VA." Ryan asked curiously. There had to be a catch.
I'd drop VA in a heartbeat if it meant I'd be able to spend more time with you. "I give private lessons for special students, and I think you might be something special. I'm not usually wrong."
She saw the shock on his face, and could have sworn that he started to tear up. She knew she was about to. But like any teenage boy, he quickly blinked away any tears that might have appeared and looked up at her. "I'll think about it, although I might be busy for the next few weeks. Glee rehearsals and all that," he shot her a mischievous smile. "We'll be rivals at regionals. And I intend to win."
This time Shelby couldn't hide her smile. "We'll see about that, Mr. Berry."
"Here are your keys."
Shelby took the proffered keys and reached into her wallet, handing the boy $30. "Your tip."
"That's a big tip," Ryan said with wide eyes.
"You did finish in record time," Shelby smiled at him. "And you provided a very interesting conversation."
Ryan grinned at her. "Thanks. I'll call you once I decide about those lessons."
Shelby nodded and got into her car, quickly driving away before her face could crack and burst into tears.